“You don’t seem upset,” Brad replied, wondering if Mader could even hear him.
“Nope,” Mader confirmed cheerfully. “Mills became a liability the moment the Agency started short-circuiting our shipments from TMF. I never did need him as much as he thought, or as much as my uncle did.” Mader grinned. “I was the Terror’s declared successor, Madrid. I didn’t need them to send me more and bigger ships to secure control of the Cadre and the Independence Militia.
“Those ships, though, they’re going to be very useful. It was never my plan to make Mills dictator, Commodore Madrid. And since now everything is on the page, I will give you one last chance:
“Join me. Bring your fleet, your ships, and your alliances over to the Cadre, and when I am Emperor, you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams.”
“Not a chance,” Brad told him. “Everdark take you, I will fight you until my last breath.”
“I figured. Know then, Commodore Madrid, that the Phoenix will offer you no further mercy. You cannot face the storm to come. The Commonwealth will fall…and like the name I chose, my empire will rise from its ashes.”
Mader bowed mockingly.
“We will never meet again. Our only remaining speech will be by the gun and the torpedo. It’s a shame, really…I finally worked out who you were.”
The hologram cut off with a small bang as an explosive shattered the communicator.
Harmon came out of the building after him a couple of minutes later. Two of his suited guards came with him, but they weren’t the ones they’d had on the Senate floor.
“Director,” Brad said quietly. “I’m sorry. The Phoenix stole a move on us—he was expecting all of this.”
“Damn.” Harmon walked over to study Mills’ body.
“Andrews is dead,” he told Brad after a long moment. “The Bailiff and Falcone will live. Thankfully, Andrews has already testified.” He shook his head. “Her files will give us a lot, but that woman knew more about the conspiracy than anyone except Mills himself, I think.”
“The Phoenix…mocked me,” Brad said bitterly, gesturing at the crater. “Bullet-delivered hologram.”
“Did he say anything useful?” Harmon asked.
“That he didn’t need Mills anymore,” Brad replied. “That he’d intentionally sent me after him and had never planned to make Mills dictator. He thinks, at least, that he has enough ships and troops and firepower to conquer us directly. To make himself Emperor at the point of a sword.”
Harmon was silent, then walked back over to Brad with his guards in tow.
“Then I hope to all that is sacred that the Fleet is ready. We’ve done all we can for now.”
“Then it’s over,” Brad said with an exhalation. “For today, at least.”
“Not yet.” The Director of the Agency studied him like an eagle studying a mouse. “I have one last duty to discharge today, distasteful as I find it.”
“Sir?” Brad asked, confused—until the guard he hadn’t noticed stepping up to him slapped manacles on his wrists. “Sir?!” he demanded.
“Commodore Brad Madrid, you are being detained for the security of the Commonwealth,” Harmon told him, his voice sad and quiet. “It took the forensics crew on Kobayashi days to work it out. They kept coming up with too few sets of matching DNA samples for the number of people they thought they had in the shuttle bay fight.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s because one of their sets was actually two people,” Harmon replied. “Two people with almost identical genetics. Brothers. And since the Agency are the only people with a copy of your DNA profile, we could match one of the sets.”
Brad stared at the Director. He had no idea what was going on.
“I wondered when I heard the name Mantruso, but the Mantruso and Riggio crime families were long subsumed into the Cadre, and it’s not that rare a name,” Harmon told him. “But now I know, and I can’t risk you walking free.”
“I don’t understand,” Brad repeated.
“Jack Mader was the designated heir of the founders of the Cadre, the leaders of the Mantruso and Riggio crime families. We thought he was their only child…except that you are his brother.”
About the Author
#1 Bestselling Military Science Fiction author Terry Mixon served as a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army 101st Airborne Division. He later worked alongside the flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at the NASA Johnson Space Center supporting the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and other human spaceflight projects.
He now writes full time while living in Texas with his lovely wife and a pounce of cats.
Other books by Terry Mixon
You can always find the most up to date listing of Terry’s titles on his Amazon Author Page.
The Empire of Bones Saga
Empire of Bones
Veil of Shadows
Command Decisions
Ghosts of Empire
Paying the Price
Reconnaissance in Force
Behind Enemy Lines
The Terra Gambit
The Empire of Bones Saga Volume 1
The Humanity Unlimited Saga
Liberty Station
Freedom Express
Tree of Liberty
The Fractured Republic Saga
Storm Divers
The Scorched Earth Saga
Scorched Earth
The Vigilante Duology with Glynn Stewart
Heart of Vengeance
Oath of Vengeance
Bound By Stars with Glynn Stewart
Bound by Law
Want Terry to email you when he publishes a new book in any format or when one goes on sale? Go to TerryMixon.com/Mailing-List and sign up. Those are the only times he’ll contact you. No spam.
Glynn Stewart is the author of Starship’s Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible–but only because of magic. His other works include science fiction series Duchy of Terra, Castle Federation and Vigilante, as well as the urban fantasy series ONSET and Changeling Blood.
Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Kitchener, Ontario with his wife, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.
Other Books by Glynn Stewart
For release announcements join the mailing list or visit GlynnStewart.com
Vigilante (With Terry Mixon)
Heart of Vengeance
Oath of Vengeance
Bound By Stars: A Vigilante Series (With Terry Mixon)
Bound By Law
Bound by Honor
Bound by Blood (upcoming)
Castle Federation
Space Carrier Avalon
Stellar Fox
Battle Group Avalon
Q-Ship Chameleon
Rimward Stars
Operation Medusa
Exile
Ashen Stars
Exile
Duchy of Terra
The Terran Privateer
Duchess of Terra
Terra and Imperium
Light of Terra: A Duchy of Terra series
Darkness Beyond (upcoming)
Starship’s Mage
Starship’s Mage
Hand of Mars
Voice of Mars
Alien Arcana
Judgment of Mars
UnArcana Stars (upcoming)
Starship’s Mage: Red Falcon
Interstellar Mage
Mage-Provocateur
Agents of Mars (upcoming)
ONSET
ONSET: To Serve and Protect
ONSET: My Enemy’s Enemy
ONSET: Blood of the Innocent
ONSET: Stay of Execution
Changeling Blood
Changeling’s Fealty
Hunter’s Oath
Noble’s Honor (upcoming)
Fantasy Stand Alone Novels
Children of Prophecy
City in the Sky